Gen. Paul Caraway's career spanned globePaul Caraway led a life that brought him from Arkansas to points across the globe. He had a career as a solider, teacher, and attorney. He was a member of the distinguished political family, saw both parents rise to the U. S. Senate, and served in an army career that brought him to the rank of lieutenant general. Paul Wyatt Caraway was born in Jonesboro in December 1905, the oldest of three sons. His father, Thaddeus Caraway, was an up-and-com...

Thomas J. Churchill, part 2Success in one field does not guarantee success in another. Thomas J. Churchill, a Kentucky native, had won fame for his exploits in the Mexican War and later as a Confederate general during the Civil War. After the war, he used his fame to catapult himself into politics. Churchill would reach the top of Arkansas politics, but a series of mistakes would destroy his political career. The people of Arkansas were incensed by the corruption of Rec...

Thomas Churchill part 1Thomas Churchill was a familiar name in Arkansas in the Civil War. The Kentucky native rose to brigadier general and was involved in some of the largest battles west of the Mississippi River. Thomas James Churchill was born in March 1824, on a farm just outside Louisville, Kentucky. Churchill was born into a very large farming family. He was one of sixteen children. The family worked hard on the farm, and the children all attended local school...

Property Assessed Clean Energy ActWhether you personally are or are not concerned with global warming, you should be interested in saving money. Many steps taken to mitigate climate change such as sustainable energy supplies and energy efficiency save money. The Trump administration refuses to acknowledge the risk of global warming and subsequent climate change, indicated by his refusal to join the rest of the world in the Paris Accords. Regardless, cities, states, schools and...

Global warming, climate change and the Paris AccordsI must respond to some of the misleading statements in Dr. Bob Allen’s article on the Clean Energy Act Dr. Allen combined and mixed up global warming, climate change and the Paris Accords while implying that humans are responsible for global warming. First, the sample set used to identify “global warming” and forecast “climate change” is just too small to forecast anything with any confidence. Doesn’t he remember that in the 1960s the big head...

Aviation Hall of Fame's James McDonnell, part 2James McDonnell started as a young boy in Arkansas fascinated by the world around him. His dreams grew as he saw technology advancing around him throughout his life. His Arkansas childhood in the early 1900s, however, was far from where he would ultimately take the world. McDonnell’s life began in the age of horse-drawn wagons, but he built a billion-dollar company that helped usher in the Space Age and put astronauts into orbit. McDonnell Air...

Want to be a 'future generationist'?Are you the type whose beliefs don't always fit neatly into a conservative or liberal label, but "moderate" sounds too mushy and none of the other "isms" fit? Or what if one of those labels does fit, but you're worried about the overall state of American politics, where it's all about today's winners and losers? Meanwhile, negative consequences are passed down to our children and grandchildren whenever possible because, hey, they don't vote. I...

Aircraft entrepreneur James McDonnell: Part 1"The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space... on the infinite highway of the air," once said aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright. This romantic view of flight has inspired designers, pilots and travelers for generations. One of the most influential aircraft companies was started by an intensely curious Arkansan, James McDonnell, who grew up dreaming of flight. M...

Flooding and drainage need attentionThank you city council members for your meeting on Wednesday for residents and city officials to address flooding and drainage issues. Why is the city spending thousands of dollars for side walks when we have so many other needs to be met - such as the drainage problems, streets that are in bad shape, striping on many streets that is almost invisible - among other things? I just feel our tax dollars could be spent for more pressing needs. Joan...

Adolphine Fletcher Terry championed social causesEvery parent faces the question each day of what kind of world they will build for their children. Sometimes a better world can start with work as simple as going to work to provide a stable home or spending time with them. And sometimes brave souls upend the entire system to give everyone an opportunity at a good life. Adolphine Fletcher Terry was a leader in many important social causes in the state throughout her life, causes that greatly i...

The famed story of the USS RazorbackDuring World War II, submarines provided an invaluable service for the United States as they silently patrolled the depths of the seas, protecting ships and shore alike. Among the many distinguished subs serving in the war and afterward was the USS Razorback, which is now docked in the Arkansas River in North Little Rock. Among its many adventures since its 1944 launch, perhaps its most curious journey is how a submarine with no connection to ...

Kids still say the darnedest thingsYou remember Art Linkletter talking to kids on the air, don't you? To begin the conversation ball rolling, he would ask each one what they had been told not to do or say before they came on the show. He usually received answers such as "Mother told me not to pick my nose," etc. Well, these are my personal memories from our only child, Melissa (I recorded quite a few of her childhood remarks in her baby book) and from my great nephew, Beege, wh...

Letter from colleague clarifiedArkansas Tech University is critical to the continued growth and development of the economy in the Arkansas River Valley. In addition to producing graduates who are prepared to solve 21stcentury problems, ATU also serves as one of the top two employers in Russellville and the estimated economic impact of the university on our region is more than $200 million annually. My colleague, Rep. Mary Bentley, shared a letter with The Courier on the eve...

by
Ken Henderson, State RepresentativeThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Vaughan: A great shortstop in baseball historyStories of scandals involving athletes have filled newspapers for decades. Colorful personalities off the field are almost routine for the top names in different sports. But there are some players who simply come to play the game, give it everything the have, and quietly return to their lives. Famed baseball player “Arky” Vaughan, an Arkansas native who was among the best in baseball when he played in the 1930s and 1940s, was attracted to the ...

Dr. Philo HooperMedical care in Arkansas has long been a difficult issue. In the nineteenth century, if one of the few doctors in the state could even reach a remote farmstead, the question was whether anything was medically possible for a patient, many of whom could not even afford a doctor’s bill. One group of Little Rock doctors, led by Dr. Philo Hooper, would begin to change that. Hooper became one of the most important physicians in the state and also be...

Â The porch in afternoon: Part IIThis column concludes the love story of Will and Anabeth. Sitting on the porch after their naps has become a custom. However, today has been different. Anabeth, suffering from Alzheimer's, is usually silent and fades"away" from him, as Will expresses it. This afternoon she has spoken and has been lucid. Will is elated as she asks him to tell her a story ... a funny one. "Okay!" I begin after several moment's thought, "One afternoon we were sit...

Column: Rube Robinson, Arkansas' winningest pitcher, was a free agent before his timeArkansas Sports Hall of Famer Rube Robinson, who was born 130 years ago today, won more professional baseball games than anyone in Arkansas history, yet it is almost impossible to find his real name in any baseball record book. Rube Robinson was born John Henry Roberson in the White County community of Floyd on Aug. 16, 1887. Although various accounts of the "baseball name" Roberson would carry throughout his career place the name error at the...

Nelson Hackett made daring slavery escapeSlavery bitterly divided North against South and neighbor against neighbor throughout the early history of the United States. While slavery was debated in legislatures, newspapers and churches, countless slaves moved to escape their bondage to a life of freedom. One such incident in the early 1840s became an international controversy, all stemming from the daring escape of one slave from Arkansas to Canada. The story began with Alfred Wallace,...

Internet sales taxOut-of-state internet sales tax The MFA is unfair. With its misleading name, the "Marketplace Fairness Act" fits the worst stereotype of politics in promising one thing and delivering the opposite. "Fairness" requires local taxes to be paid for by local businesses who benefit from the local infrastructure, such as police, fire protection, water and sewer, etc. Businesses in another state do not directly benefit from local infrastructure, and s...

The porch in afternoon: Part 1This is a love story. The characters, Will and Anabeth, are in their late 70s. It is a fictional piece based on true characters -- my Houston friend's mom and dad. The mother had been diagnosed as having "hardening of the arteries." Yet her forgetfulness and loss of reality continued to advance. Finally, a specialist at Baylor School of Medicine in the Medical Center found, after a battery of tests, its true name and its consequences. Alzheime...